


For the Team

by mofspades



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7169192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mofspades/pseuds/mofspades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"All the effort I put into friendships are crumbling away"<br/>(Mizuki, DMMd)</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the Team

It was stupid.

He knew he was overreacting, after all, it's all just a game, and yet there was still a sinking feeling in his heart whenever it was brought up, especially if someone left. After all, Dry Juice was his family. Every single member felt like the flesh and blood he didn't have growing up, so to hear that someone was even thinking of leaving was like a stab in the gut.

He knew he wasn't the only one, either. He's heard of other powerful Rib teams who've become small, and some that have even completely disbanded. The thought that it would happen to his team horrified him.

Mizuki has tried so hard to keep everyone together, including holding parties and other events, and yet there were people who would leave everyone behind. It didn't matter how lovely their parting words were, or how much they promised to keep the memory of the good times alive, if anything, they hurt even more (though not as much as the people who didn't even try hiding the fact that they replaced Rib with Rhyme).

Mizuki could still remember the day it all started, when Rib was becoming the talk of the island. He'd known of some Rib teams he greatly admired, and he could remember when it was just him and a few close friends just trying their best. He remembered the excitement of getting more people to join, and the initial pride the swept through them when they heard Dry Juice had a reputation, and how many people desperately wanted to join them.

"Good evening, Mizuki."

"ASDF—!" Mizuki jumped as he turned around, a hand on his chest as he tried to soothe his pounding heart once he realized who it was."  
"O-Oh, it's just you two. Isn't it a little late to be giving someone a heart attack? What are you even doing here, we're closed."

Virus only smiled at the man, feigning a friendly laugh. "We just thought we'd check out Black Needle. Since the door was open, we thought we could just drop in."

While one part of him scolded himself for neglecting to lock up, the other was looking at the two suspiciously. Mizuki had heard of the infamous yakuza twins, even saw them hanging around Aoba during his bad boy phase, yet they never once stopped by, or even talked to him personally. He wanted to interrogate them, kick them out of the shop, but they were yakuza in the end, and he didn't want to mess around with people with that kind of power.  
"...Well I can't exactly kick you out, I should've locked up on time. So what do you want, a drink? An appointment?" He asked, giving off the best attitude he could muster up at the moment.

"We just want to talk, actually."

Mizuki's nerves began acting up. There was a bad feeling boiling up in his stomach as Virus and Trip leaned on the counter.

"First of all, I want to say I'm sorry that the Rib community seems to be ending. We know that as a leader, it must be very important to you."

"It's not ending."

"...Right, of course it's not." Virus repeated with another eerie smile. "Well, we came here with a...proposal, of sorts. I'm sure you've heard of Morphine? The Rib team."

A cold shiver went down Mizuki's spine as he looked into those piercing blue eyes, knowing the other set was staring at him as well and making him suddenly feel very trapped and immobile.

"N-No. I'm not doing that, I don't want anything to do with this." He said, his panic showing in his eyes and voice.

"Oh? Thats strange, I thought you'd be interested. It would give you a bigger group and a chance to become stronger."

"No, I—!"

"Mizuki, it's no secret that Rib has become a bore. People always want shiny, new things. Think for a second. Wouldn't your team be excited to try something new? You'll be keeping your current members, and maybe even have new ones, all while becoming more powerful. Trip, how does this sound?"

"It sounds like he has nothing to lose." Trip replied. "Seems like a good deal."

Mizuki...couldn't argue. He couldn't see any hints of lying, and even if it did have a catch, he couldn't think straight enough to see it. He just...he knew the saying "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened", but he wasn't ready for things to be over. He wasn't ready to lose his family.

"Well?" Virus edged.

"...I'll think about it."

Virus and Trip stood up with a newfound brightness in their eyes, Trip handing Mizuki a small, black and white card which Mizuki hesitantly took.

"Excellent! This is our contact information whenever you're ready to get in touch. We'll be awaiting your call."

"Bye bye!"

And with that, the duo left Mizuki alone in the shop, the silence drowning him as he stood there with the black card in hand. He immediately knew that he had made a mistake, yet the thought of keeping what he loved wouldn't let him acknowledge that. He'd cried and prayed for a chance to start over, and this was an answer to his prayers. With this, he could bring back the excitement of Dry Juice's early years. There wouldn't be anymore goodbyes. There wouldn't be anymore cheesy parting words, or comments about how he should stop being childish about people quitting a game.No longer will he have to say goodbye to close friends, no longer will he witness someone dear to him leave something genuine and succumbing to the bullshit that is Rhyme.

...There wouldn't be anymore goodbyes...

"...This is...for the team." He convinced himself. "...Anything for my family..."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I've been thinking about in terms of irl friendships, but also the fandom. Mizuki has been someone I can relate to, but now more than ever. I was in a very low place, and DRAMAtical Murder has helped me with a lot of personal issues and struggles I've been having. I've also met a lot of people in the fandom that have helped me in one way or another, and I couldn't have been more grateful to have met them, whether they know it or now, and whether they feel the same about me or not.
> 
> I'm going to cut this short so as to stop being so sappy (haha) and say this:  
> Thank you, everyone. Thank you, N+C. Whether DMMd lives longer or not. I will always hold it in my heart.


End file.
